The Urban Archeologist: Lookout! Behind you! It’s history!

I was walking through my favorite distraction (read: local flea market) viewing plot after plot of the highest end antiques, to the lowest dirt-covered mysteries. Thank goodness for the “low” end, or I might not go at all. Since I never know what I’m looking for, I need to connect with some of the dealers so they can help me find a story.  I have a standout item I am always looking for, which is meant to be an ice-breaker to get a dealer to talk while I am digging.

“Got any Glass Negatives?” I will ask. They almost never do. Mainly because they are extremely fragile and don’t travel well. I am usually met with one of 2 responses, “I just sold ‘em!” or, “I have some back home.”  There are times when I am given some slides to view, and I can immediately tell, that they are not negatives, but positive slides used in colleges classrooms, or the more affluent homes of the 20’s thru 40’s in a Lantern projector.  

I was pleasantly surprised a few weeks ago when I struck up a conversation, or a kinship, with 2 venerable types, Steve and Bob. The subject of old images came up and Steve had the same eye as myself - something about the people, their past, their actions, intrigues us. When I mentioned glass negatives, Bob said he had a box of them and would bring them the next sunday.

The next week, Bob, true to his word,  brought out a box of assorted negatives; I was speechless. Take a look at the before and after shots above, there is something so appealing to me about these glass plate negatives. Maybe it’s the image, or maybe it’s the fact that while windows have the memory of a million scenes inside them, these panes have seen only one. There it is, and it feels like it just took place.

There were over 30 more negatives that I captured that afternoon, click here to see them revealed in my latest video. My thanks to Bob A. for sharing them with me.